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Former state Sen. Paul Sandoval gets a hug from daughter Kendra Sandoval Reed at a party last June at his restaurant, Tamales by La Casita. "Many a great conversation took place ... in the backroom of Paul's restaurant," said Gov. John Hickenlooper. (Andy Cross, Denver Post file)

Paul Sandoval, a wheeler and dealer who mapped out the careers of numerous politicians in an office at his Denver tamale shop, has lost the biggest campaign of his life.

His wife, Paula, said he died Tuesday at about 2:30 p.m. He was 67.

"He died very peacefully," she said.

Known as the godfather of Colorado politics, the former Democratic state senator advised governors and U.S. senators, among others, on issues big and small, from bilingual education to pollster strategy.

In February 2011, doctors diagnosed Sandoval with pancreatic cancer and told him he probably had six months to live.

Photos: Paul Sandoval

In recent weeks, he had been on a portable hospital bed in his living room. Among the visitors he received Friday was Ken Salazar, U.S. secretary of the Interior. Paula Sandoval said her husband understood Salazar but was unable to speak much with him because he was so weak.

"We have lost a friend, leader and visionary today," Salazar said in a statement. "In his life, Paul Sandoval gave voice to fellow citizens who wanted better schools, safer communities and a chance to pursue the American dream. I will never forget his passion for public service, his heart and the love he showed for his friends, neighbors and family. He is a role model and a hero."

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It was at Sandoval's tamale shop, La Casita, in 1997 that the pair drew Salazar's future on a restaurant napkin: Salazar would run for state attorney general in 1998. He held that post until being elected U.S. senator in 2004.

Gov. John Hickenlooper said Sandoval was "beloved by many Coloradans."

"Many a great conversation took place and many tamales eaten in the backroom of Paul's restaurant," he said in a statement. "While his family and friends were his passion, he loved a good political fight. He was a man with a deep reservoir of humility and compassion and an amazing sense of humor.

Then-state Sen. Paul Sandoval, right, hears about Mexican-style rodeo from Teodoro Calantino and Antonio Sandoval, who sat at a table with the lawmaker in 1976 to ask for funding assistance needed to include the event in the Colorado State Fair. (Historical collection)

"Our hearts go out to his wife, Paula, and his entire family. Helen and I will miss him beyond measure," Hickenlooper said, referring to his wife, Helen Thorpe.

Paul John Sandoval was born June 29, 1944, in Denver on a stretch of Mariposa Street that would become Interstate 25. He was the ninth of Jerry and Camilla Sandoval's 11 children. Two siblings died in childhood.

Before he could speak much English, Sandoval could say "Denver Post — 5 cents," and he hustled alongside his brothers to sell newspapers. His brother Joe, a former educator with Denver Public Schools, recalled last year that they once had to track down a delinquent customer at a bar.

"Paul said, 'What about my interest?' The guy said, 'Here's your quarter interest.' I had never even heard that term 'interest' before," Joe said. "Paul's been a wheeler and dealer all his life."

The boys grew up surrounded by politics. Their dad and uncle founded the meatpackers union, and Sandoval learned at an early age it was about the person, not the party.

"Paul and my dad used to stay up all hours of the night waiting for election results," Joe said. "I couldn't handle it; I had to go to bed. But Paul became a political junkie."

By the eighth grade, Sandoval was delivering groceries for Gem Market in northeast Denver. A few blocks away, a tall kid named Wellington Webb had the same job at Goodrich Grocery.

In the 1970s, they served together in the legislature, and in 1991, Sandoval helped Webb become Denver's first black mayor.

In addition to his wife, Paula, a former state senator and Denver City Council member, Sandoval is survived by four daughters from his previous marriage, Kendra, Cris, Andrea and Amanda; and a son, Brett Sterkel, from an earlier relationship.

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